1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a package for protecting an article from shipping and handling damage.
2. Description of Related Art
A shipping package must be able to withstand impact forces encountered during shipping and handling without transmitting excessive amounts of such forces to an article packaged therein. It is well known, for example, to package an article in a shipping container filled with such loose fill materials as foam, paper, wood chips, etc., or to cushion the article with an inflatable insert, or to support the article with rigid but deformable plastic inserts. It is also well known, for example from U.S Pat. Nos. 4,852,743 and 4,923,065 to sandwich an article between a pair of pliable, flexible membranes mounted on frames, thereby floatably suspending the article within the container.
Although the known packaging techniques are satisfactory for their intended purposes, experience has shown that there are many limitations in their practice. Thus, and by no means constituting an exhaustive list, foam is not readily recyclable or biodegradable; paper and wood chips put an ever-increasing burden on trees and the environment; inflatable inserts require sources of pressurized gas; and rigid but deformable inserts are not entirely satisfactory for delicate objects such as glass. Floating suspensions of the kind exemplified by the above patents either space the membrane-mounted frames apart, in which case, the membranes do not contact the entire outer periphery of the article; or allow the frames to contact each other, in which case, the membranes may exert insufficient tension on the article being packaged.
It is also known to sandwich articles between a single membrane-mounted frame and the bottom of a container. However, in practice, the position of the frame shifts during shipping and handling, thereby providing inadequate protection for the article. Also, an inadequate tension may be exerted on the packaged article by the membrane on the frame.